Thread-take-up mechanism.



E. L. BARTON.

THREAD TAKE-UP MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 31, 1912.

Patented Apr. 6, 1915.

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EDWARD L. BARTON, OF BELVIDERE, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO NATIONAL SEWING MACHINE COMPANY, OF BELVIDERE, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

THREAD-TAKE-UP IVIEO'I-IANISIVI.

Application filed January 31, 1912.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, EDWARD L. BARTON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Belvidere, in the county of Boone and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Thread-Take-Up Mechanism, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to sewing machines, and has particular reference to improvements in thread take-up mechanism therefor.

The object of my invention is to provide an improved mechanism for automatically taking up the slack in the thread during the operation of the machine, and which will be simple and effective in operation.

A further object of my invention is to provide an improved auxiliary take-up mechanism for sewing machines which, on account of its comparative delicacy and liability to damage, will be practically entirely concealed and fully guarded against damage when the machine is being wiped or cleaned, and which may be easily and properly threaded.

To the attainment of these ends and the accomplishment of other objects hereinafter appearing, my invention consists in the features of novelty in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts herein described, claimed and shown in the accompanying drawing, which illustrates one form of my invention, and in which- Figure 1 is a face view of the head of a sewing machine in which my invention is embodied. Fig. 2 is a sectional view of said sewing machine head taken substantially on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a view of the lower portion of the head with the headplate removed to show the interior parts thereof, and Fig. 4 is a sectional view on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1.

I have illustrated my invention as applied to a sewing machine head of well known construction, but it is to be understood that my invention is capable by suitable modifications of being adapted to other types of sewing machines. In the type of sewing machine in connection with which I have illustrated my invention in the drawing, an operating head A is provided in which a needle bar 1 and a presser foot bar 2 are mounted in parallel relation and extend vertically through said head. The needle bar 1 carries Specification of Letters Patent.

Iatented Apr. 6, 1915.

Serial No. 674,446.

at its lower end a needle 3, and is adapted to be reciprocated vertically by the usual needle bar operating mechanism. The presser foot bar carries at its lower end a presser foot 4, which, as is well known, yieldingly presses upon the cloth and cloth feeding mechanism, and is adapted to be raised and lowered by means of a hand or finger lever 5 in the usual manner. WVhen the presser foot bar is raised the cloth is released and may be turned around to sew in another direction, or may be completely removed. Sewing machines of this character are also provided with a main thread take-up which generally comprises a vibrating arm 6 pivoted within the head at 7, and operated generally by a mechanism 8 shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2. The head of the machine is usually provided with a face or head plate 9 secured in any suitable manner thereto, so that it may be readily removed, and this plate is provided with an elongated slot 10 through which the take-up arm 6 projects and operates. In the drawing I have also shown thread tension mechanisms B and C secured to the head plate 9. These may be of any suitable type.

In the embodiment of my invention shown in the drawing I secure a stud 11 to one of the inner side walls of the head A by means of a screw 12, so that it may be removed if desired. On this stud is acoil spring 13, one end of which may be secured to the stud in any suitable manner and the other end of which forms a straight arm 14. This arm projects through an elongated slot 15 in the face plate 9, and its end is formed as an eye let 16 through which the thread is passed. This loop is open at 16 so that the thread may be readily entered into the loop. The spring arm 14 is so arranged that it con stantly tends to seek the lower end of the slot 15, and in order to provide a suitable positioner for this spring take-up arm I secure a gib 17 to the presser foot bar. This gib may consist of a flat piece of metal suitably formed and secured to the presser bar 2 in any suitable manner, such, for instance, as by forming it into a loop 18 around the presser bar and clamping it in position by means of the screw 19, as clearly shown in Figs. 3 and 4. This gib extends laterally from the presser bar 2 and lies immediately back of the face plate 9. The spring takeup arm 14, as is clearly seen in Figs. 2,

3 and 4t, rests upon the upper edge of this gib. In order to prevent it from becoming displaced from this position when the face plate is removed, I provide a U shaped guide 20. The gib 17 being secured to the presser bar, is adapted to be raised and lowered therewith, so that when the presser bar is 'raised by means of the hand lever 5, the

v several mechanisms when the cloth is removed from the machine. I provide means by which the action of the spring take-up arm may be nullified when the presser bar is raised. This means may compr1se the gib 17 in conjunction with a device secured to the face plate A, which also serves as a guard 23 to protect the projectlng eyelet 16 of the arm 14 from being damaged. In the form which I have shown it will be seen that this device consists of a piece of st1ff rod riveted in the face of the plate and bent in substantially the form of a hook, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, so that the eyelet 16 of the spring take-up arm may osc1llate between the side leg members of this guard. These parts are so proportioned that when the presser foot bar is raised the eyelet 16 of the spring take-up arm is similarly ralsed by the gib 17, as before mentioned, to a point substantially in line with the upper ends of the guard 23, and the thread may be freely pulled through the eyelet, I prefer to guide the free end of the gib 17 so that it will always be maintained in its relative position, and for this purpose I provide an upstanding guide post 25 in position to be embraced by the bifurcated or forked end 26 of the gib 17, as clearly shown in Figs. 3 and 4.

Referring to Fig. 1, it will be seen that after the thread D leaves the main tension mechanism C, it is passed under the upper ends of the guard 23, and through the eyelet 16 of the spring take-up arm. From here the thread passes up to the hooked end of the main take-up arm 6, and thence downwardly through .a thread guide 27 to the needle 3. The lower edge of the face plate is smoothed or beveled at 27 to prevent the cutting of the thread. In this structure it will be noted that the guide 27 is substantially in line with the needle bar, and enables the thread to pass directly to the needle without turning any unnecessary angles.

It will be particularly noted that the auxiliary slack thread take-up mechanism, which necessarily must be more or less delicate and quickly responsive to the occurrence of slack in the thread, is wholly mounted within the head of the machine, the eyelet 16 through which the thread passes being the only portion thereof which projects through the face plate 9, and this eyelet 16 is well protected by means of the bent wire guard 23, and the result is that the auxiliary take-up mechanism cannot be tampered with in any manner, nor can it be bent or damaged in any way by catching the ravelings of the cloth when the machine is wiped or cleaned. In addition to this it will be seen that the parts of this mechanism are so constructed and arranged that the head plate 9 may be removed from the head of the machine and replaced as often as desired for such purposes as oiling the interior parts of the head without disturing the adjustment I of said mechanism. Hence it is simple and practically proof" against disarrangement in the hands of unskilled persons, it being only necessary to loop the thread. under the lower end of the guard 23 and the thread will enter the eyelet 16. The thread guide 27 may be made in any suitable manner, but I prefer to make it in the form of a hook, one end of which,'as is clearly seen, is riveted in the face plate, and the other end of which projects into a slot 28 in the face plate a sufficient distance to prevent the thread from being thrown out by the take-up arm 6 when the machine is in operation. 7 lVhat I claim is:

' 1. The improvement herein described comprising a sewing machine head having a detachableface plate thereon, and a slot in said face plate; a gib mounted in said'head; a resilient oscillatory take-up arm mounted in said head, extending through said slot I a guide adapted to maintain the armin proper position when the face plate is detached.

2. The improvements herein described, comprising a sewing machine head having a slotted face plate, a presser foot bar, a mechanism for operating said bar, in com-' bination with a vibratory take-up arm mounted within said head and having a thread receiving portion extending through the slot in said face plate, a gib mounted on said presser foot bar within the head and upon which said vibratory arm rests, a guide post within said head for said gib, and means on said gib for preventing the displacement of said vibratory arm.

3. In a mechanism of the class described, the combination of a sewing machine head having a presser foot bar and means for ac- Y on said head concealing said parts and having an opening therein through which the eyelet end of said spring arm projects when the plate is in place, a bent wire hook secured on said plate and having side members spaced apart and between which the eyelet end of said spring arm oscillates.

4. In a mechanism of the class described, the combination with a sewing machine head having a presser foot bar and means for actuating it, a member secured within said head and having a spring arm secured thereto, said arm having a thread receiving eyelet at its free end, a gib mounted on said presser foot bar, and upon which said spring arm rests, a post within said head for guiding the end of said gib, a removable plate on said head concealing said parts and having an opening therein through which the eyelet end of said spring arm projects when the plate is in place, a bent wire hook secured on said plate and having side members spaced apart and between which the eyelet end of said spring arm oscillates, and means on said gib for preventing the displacement of said spring arm relatively to the opening in the removable plate.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of subscribing witnesses, on this 22nd day of January A. D. 1912.

EDWARD L. BARTON.

Witnesses:

J. E. WVARREN, FRANK I. NEFF, FRANK L= GooDRIoH.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G." 

